What does gob mean?
Gob is a versatile informal word with meanings that range from a small lump to the mouth itself. As a noun, it can refer to a morsel or irregular portion of food, a wad of a soft material, or a relatively large amount of money. In British English, 'gob' is also a blunt, sometimes rude term for a person's mouth, as in 'shut your gob.' Used as a verb, it means to eat or swallow something quickly, usually with an implication of greediness or haste. The word can also function as an exclamation of surprise, annoyance, or emphasis. Its tone is generally conversational, humorous, or mildly offensive rather than formal, and many of its uses are more familiar in British English than in American English. Gob is especially useful when informal precision matters: it can describe a shapeless lump, a portion of food, or the act of eating quickly without sounding as formal as terms such as 'morsel' or 'swallow.'
An irregular lump or small mass, especially of food; an informal word for a person's mouth; or a quantity of something such as money.
"He put a gob of ice cream on his cone."
The mouth sense is chiefly British and informal, while the lump and quantity senses are also mainly colloquial.
To eat or swallow something quickly, often greedily.
"The children gobbled their sweets on the walk home."
Informal and especially associated with British English.
An exclamation expressing surprise, annoyance, or emphasis, sometimes used as a euphemistic mild oath.
"Gob, I nearly spilled the whole pot of tea."
Informal; its force and acceptability depend on context and tone.
The plural is gobs, used for separate lumps or portions, informal amounts, or, in British English, multiple instances of the mouth sense.
"She divided the cheese into three small gobs."
From a lump of food to a distinctly British word for the mouth, gob is a small word with surprisingly elastic meanings.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gob come from?
The word gob has an uncertain ultimate origin, although it is well established in English for a lump or mass. Its modern use for the mouth developed as an informal extension, especially in British English. Gobble and its derivatives, including gobbler and gobbledygook, belong to the same extended word family and reflect the associated sense of eating quickly.
Related word forms
How gob is actually used
The mouth sense and the verb sense are informal and especially associated with British English. The word can sound dismissive or rude when used for someone's mouth, while the food sense is often playful or conversational.
Easily confused with gob
A gobble is specifically the act of eating quickly, often with a greedy or noisy manner, whereas a gob is a lump, portion, or informal word for the mouth.